The data were collected through face-to-face and telephone
interviews conducted with voters in twenty-two states that held
primaries and one state that held a caucus to choose the Democratic
candidate for president of the United States. The candidates were
Senator and former United States Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun,
retired United States Army General Wesley Clark, New Hampshire
Governor Howard Dean, Senator John Edwards, Senator Dick Gephardt,
Senator John Kerry, United States Representative... (more info)

The data were collected through face-to-face and telephone
interviews conducted with voters in twenty-two states that held
primaries and one state that held a caucus to choose the Democratic
candidate for president of the United States. The candidates were
Senator and former United States Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun,
retired United States Army General Wesley Clark, New Hampshire
Governor Howard Dean, Senator John Edwards, Senator Dick Gephardt,
Senator John Kerry, United States Representative Dennis Kucinich,
Senator Joe Lieberman, and Reverend Al Sharpton. Early and absentee
voters were polled via the telephone during the week leading up to an
individual state's primary. Election day voters were interviewed in
person as they exited polling places on their state's primary
days. Respondents were asked which candidate they voted for in the
primary, when and why they decided on that candidate, and what one
quality and one issue mattered most in choosing that candidate. They
were polled on the candidates and the candidates' likelihood of
defeating the incumbent, President George W. Bush. Also, they were
asked whether they voted for the candidate who they thought had the
best chance of defeating George W. Bush or the candidate they agreed
with most on important issues, whether they had seen candidates'
campaign ads and/or Web sites, and whether they were confident their
vote would be counted accurately. Respondents were asked to assess the
condition of the nation's economy, their personal financial situation
compared to four years ago, their level of concern about another
terrorist attack occurring in the United States, and the safety of the
country as a result of military action in Iraq. Additional opinions
were gathered concerning the Bush administration and its policies and
decisions and United States Senator John McCain from Arizona. Further
questions addressed topics such as whether the tax cuts implemented
under the Bush administration should be adjusted or eliminated and
whether respondents worried that someone in their household would lose
their job. Background information on respondents includes age,
education, frequency of religious service attendance, Hispanic
descent, labor union membership status within the household, marital
status, personal voting history, political ideology, political party
affiliation, race, religious orientation, sex, sexual orientation,
total household income in 2003, and whether anyone in the household
had served in the military.

One key variable, known as the "backside"
variable, exists on all surveys that used a two-sided questionnaire.
It can be found in column 16 of all states except Iowa. When BACKSIDE
= 1, there was at least one response on the reverse side of the
questionnaire, indicating that the respondent turned the questionnaire
over. This allows the researcher who is analyzing a question that
appears on the reverse to omit respondents who did not turn the
questionnaire over. For all respondents where BACKSIDE = 2, responses
to any question that appeared on page 2 of the questionnaire are coded
as system missing in the SPSS file and are blank in the ASCII
file.

In New Hampshire, there were two separate versions of the
exit poll questionnaire. Each respondent received only one
version. Respondents were randomly assigned to receive each version,
with approximately half of the respondents in each precinct answering
each version. Some questions were common to both versions, but many
appear only on one version.

This study is provided by ICPSR.
ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis
for a diverse and expanding social science research community.

One key variable, known as the "backside"
variable, exists on all surveys that used a two-sided questionnaire.
It can be found in column 16 of all states except Iowa. When BACKSIDE
= 1, there was at least one response on the reverse side of the
questionnaire, indicating that the respondent turned the questionnaire
over. This allows the researcher who is analyzing a question that
appears on the reverse to omit respondents who did not turn the
questionnaire over. For all respondents where BACKSIDE = 2, responses
to any question that appeared on page 2 of the questionnaire are coded
as system missing in the SPSS file and are blank in the ASCII
file.

In New Hampshire, there were two separate versions of the
exit poll questionnaire. Each respondent received only one
version. Respondents were randomly assigned to receive each version,
with approximately half of the respondents in each precinct answering
each version. Some questions were common to both versions, but many
appear only on one version.

Methodology

Sample:
The samples were selected in two stages. First, a
probability sample of voting precincts within each state was selected
that represents the different geographic areas across the state and
the partisan make-up of the state. Precincts were selected with a
probability proportionate to the number of voters in each precinct.
Each voter in a state had the same chance to be selected. There was
one exception. In some states, precincts that had large minority
populations were sampled at a higher rate than other precincts. The
sample weighting adjusts the representation of these precincts to
their correct share of the total vote. Second, within each precinct,
voters were sampled systematically throughout the voting day at a rate
that gave all voters in a precinct the same chance of being
interviewed.

Weight:
The data contain weights that should be applied in all
analyses.